Types of fats
The primary building blocks of fats are fatty acids. The two essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid, are components of certain cell membranes and hormones.
Fats come in two major varieties: saturated and unsaturated. A saturated fat is one that has a surplus of hydrogen atoms clinging to carbon atoms within the fatty acid; the more hydrogen, the more saturated the fat is. These fats tend to be solid or semi-solid at room temperature (for example, cheese, butter, yogurt, palm oil, coconut oil). The fats that have less hydrogen atoms hanging on to their carbon neighbors are called unsaturated and are liquid at room temperature (vegetable oils).
Just when you thought we were done with the technicalities, there is more.
Unsaturated fats are classified by the relationships of carbon to hydrogen. If only one carbon-carbon bond is saturated with hydrogen, it is called monounsaturated. Olive and canola oils are examples of monounsaturated fats. If two or more carbon-carbon bonds are replete with hydrogen, this is known as a polyunsaturated fat. All the other vegetable oils besides olive and canola are polyunsaturated fats (for example, safflower, soybean, sesame).
A really unsaturated fat is fish oil, which is composed of omega-3 fatty acids, having six carbon-carbon bonds. (I know. We now have more bonds than an Ian Fleming film festival.) Fish that have their zip code in cold waters retain the highest amounts of omega-3 fatty acids; the six sites of saturation function as a type of antifreeze, keeping the mackerel from becoming a mackerel-sicle. Research has shown that eating cold-water fish, with its inherent omega-3 fats, can impart protection against stroke, heart attack, and heart disease. Many native North American tribes who have traditionally depended upon salmon consider it a sacred food because of the health-promoting quality of these fish fats and proteins.
This does not work the same with fish oil capsules, which have shown in some cases to be counterproductive, even dangerous. This is likely because it is easy to overdo capsules and take them without the ancillary nutrients to properly process the intensely rich oils.
The double-edged sword here is that even though cold-water fish is healthy for you, it has become challenging to locate fish supplies not contaminated with mercury and other reckless by-products of seaside or seafaring industries.2
Good Sources of Fat:
• Cold-water fish (mackerel, herring, Atlantic and sockeye salmon, tuna, sturgeon, and other)
• Olive oil and canola oil
• Organic butter (yes, it is superior to margarine)
• Cheese (soft and hard varieties, including cottage cheese and cream cheese)
• Free-range organic eggs (more fat in the white, more protein in the yolk)
• Nuts and nut butters (almond butter is one of the best choices)
• Meats (the more unprocessed and affected by commercial additives, the better)
When Fats Turn Ugly
Hydrogenation is a chemical process in which unsaturated fats are transformed into saturated fats by injecting the former with copious amounts of hydrogen. You have read the ingredients of the commercial cupcakes you love to secretly indulge in and found “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” often among the top five ingredients. This hydrogenation process increases the shelf life of the product. Real butter will go rancid in time (without refrigeration), and chemically hydrogen-impregnated vegetable oil alleviates this problem and, according to the food industry, will taste just as delectable months, perhaps years, from the day it was created. Margarines and shortenings are produced through this hydrogenation process as a low-cost preservation method for baked goods.
The ensuing problem is that the unsaturated fatty acid gets mutated in the process of hydrogenation. The naturally occurring form of the fatty acid, called a cis form, basically a spiraling molecular structure, gets involuntarily straightened out. The mutant post-hydrogenation form, the straight version, is called a trans fatty acid and is well-documented as causing higher LDL cholesterol levels and elevating risks for heart disease. So stick with organic butter and shun the margarines—butter is better; just keep to slender portions.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates come from plants. There are three primary groups of carbohydrates, casually known as carbs. As we will discover, not all carbs are equal.
• Group One: Simple Sugars (a.k.a. saccharides)
• Group Two: Complex Carbohydrates (a.k.a. starches)
• Group Three: Dietary Fiber (a.k.a. roughage)
The Group One collection of carbs is the most immediately usable form for energy from foods. They break down to blood sugar (glucose) quite fast. The cast of simple sugars, glucose, fructose, and galactose, looks something like this:
| Monosaccharides: | Disaccharides: |
| The simplest form of sugar | 2 monosaccharides bonded together |
| Glucose (blood sugar) | Maltose(grain sugar) = glucose + glucose |
| Fructose (plant sugar) | Sucrose(cane, beet sugar) = glucose + fructose |
| Galactose (milk sugar) | Lactose(milk sugar) = glucose + galactose |
Our culture is addicted to sucrose in many ways. What is usually listed in the food additives as sugar is some form of sucrose. Since sugar is excessive in the commercial food supply, and we know that sugar abuse is a problem, some food manufacturers are trying to obscure their listing of it as an ingredient. Vague labels such as, “evaporated cane juice” or “crystallized cane powder” are appearing on your favorite food products. It is just sugar.
Both sucrose and salt are the two most used commercial food ingredients. If you start seeing salt listed as “distilled sodium chloride” or “evaporated sea mineral,” you know someone is attempting to veil something.
Refined sugar is problematic for the body because the minerals and fiber of the sugar cane or beet have been chemically stripped away. The refining produces a highly acidic producing chemical, one with many negative health effects. You know sugar is not great for you, but you take it in excess anyways—it is like a drug. Here are three things that are undisputed in the dietary frontlines, where there is often less agreement than discord:
1. Excess sugar consumption causes dental carries (cavities).
2. Excess sugar consumption is a significant factor in obesity.
3. People who have removed refined sugar from their diets have shown remarkable improvement in their health and wellness. Jack Lalanne, for example, America’s first television health guru, whom I recall watching as a youngster (along with his German shepherd named Happy), attributes his robust health to his forsaking refined sugar and processed foods.3 At 90 years, Jack is still going strong. May we all learn a few lessons from his example. (See segment on sugar in chapter 14.)
The Group Two collection contains carbohydrates that are long-chain assemblies of monosaccharides and disaccharides, known as polysaccharides or starch. These are commonly called complex carbohydrates because of the numerous groupings of simple sugars.
Three primary types of starches are (1) dietary starches (grains, roots, beans); (2) dietary fiber (carbohydrates that cannot be digested by human enzymes but can be by others in the animal kingdom); (3) glycogen (starch stored in your muscles and organs).
Starches are good sources of energy, especially